A fun short retelling of one of my favorite childhood stories.

Protagonist is sweet, dedicated and funny. I particularly found the exploration done with her feelings about her blood family vs her found family to be interesting and a good way to open up conversations around the topic. This story highlights all of Kingfisher's storytelling talent, even if it is not quite my favorite of her work.

I know some people will find this book to be way too short and may think that some of its themes needed more exploration but honestly Kingfisher does not seem to be that sort of writer. She's not always trying to go too deep into the weeds of her themes, but there is usually just enough to get the reader thinking and to connect with the characters, which is fantastic because that means her stories don't get bogged down by useless filler or self indulgent tangents. Kingfisher is a master of crafting characters and worlds that can leave a reader wanting more, but she holds back on a lot of that "more" because it's not necessarily needed. She knows what she needs to tell her story and how to tell it well.

I have yet to read a Kingfisher book that I dislike and I cannot wait to read more of her work. While this one is not my favorite, it's not at all near the bottom of the pile.

Only reason I'm holding back on giving this 5 stars is because I do not think I got as much as I wanted to get out of my reading experience this first time around. Definitely a book I want to reread and really take my time with.

Great pacing, strong characters, interesting mystery, all the same strengths as the first book as for as I'm concerned. Bennett, if nothing else, is a very skilled storyteller and singlehandedly responsible for my rising interest in the fantasy mystery sub-genre.

I will say that I cannot help but see this story as a sort of...indirect capitalistic imperialist propaganda. I would love to have a discussion about just that with someone and make my case so I may make a forum post about it later when I'm not currently falling asleep.

I'm always impressed by authors who manage to write investing stories and strong characters in such a limited number of pages. Add onto that an impressively strong narrative voice and some genuinely unique worldbuilding, all wrapped up in a message unafraid to stand tall and proud in your face, you get a damn near a perfect book.

Will definitely be checking out more of Clark's work